then call up the secretary of state, call up the director of the cia, get together with the relevant congressional oversight committee and say what happened, how do we fix it? let's make sure we can go better and not lose diplomats. >> if for some reason you did get another phone call -- you have gotten one before from the president of the united states, saying he would like you to serve as secretary of state. >> would you do it? >> i don't play the hypothetical game. we have moved on. my history has always spoken to putting my country first. and if i didn't, my two sons at the u.s. naval academy would never forgive me. the president will choose who he wa wants. and it serves no purpose playing the speculation game. >> that's interesting, who would you recommend for that sort of position? >> if you were obama, who would you pick? >> final question. >> it does no good to play the name game. >> you can dodge my question but not abby's. >> let's say this about the future. the future isn't afghanistan or iraq but how well prepared we are to meet the 21st century challenges of competitive